


rectify

by shessolovely



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/M, I really like the fact that people have stopped treating Tony like a villain, I'm still technically coming up with the plot for this, Peter is an adorkable teenager, i just really want to write this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2018-12-01 04:42:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shessolovely/pseuds/shessolovely
Summary: As Spider-Man, Peter Parker has to deal with a lot of bad, crazy stuff- alien technology, nearly falling to his death from unbelievable heights, bullies, that sort of thing. Not a big deal, it comes with the job. Problems were things he could handle.But never in a million years did Peter think his biggest problem yet would be a fifteen year old girl in pajamas.





	1. Textbooks and Bruises

Being Spider-Man came with a lot of responsibility. Peter knew that after what had happened with Vulture, and the ferry, and _especially_ after Mr. Stark took his suit away. Being a superhero, a near  _Avenger_ , wasn't something to take lightly, and Peter had to make sure he was focused. He had to make sure Mr. Stark knew he made the right choice in picking Peter to fight alongside him.

But he had saved the city and almost _all_ of Mr. Stark's stuff from Avengers Tower, not to mention survived all of Aunt May's questions and ranting and raving, and didn't that mean he deserved to relax for a little while?

"I mean, yeah, I think I did okay!" Peter swung from one building to the next in the cool night air, letting the city's lights and Karen's navigation system guide him. "Yeah, Liz had to move away... And yeah, her dad is going to be on trial, and yeah I know I blew my shot with her- but I was offered to be an Avenger, Karen!" Peter settled on the roof of a house as he gushed. "An _Avenger!_ With my own room and everything!"  
  
"That sounds really exciting, Peter." The intelligence system sounded pleased. "I'm glad you're happy."  
  
The smile on Peter's face faltered. "Yeah, well... It doesn't always stop the nightmares and stuff. But I'm sure it'll go away, right? Yeah, I'm sure it will. I mean, I'd ask Mr. Stark about it, but he's a busy guy, I can't just impose on him like that! Nah, I'll figure it out by myself." The boy yawned. "Hey, Karen, what time is it?"  
  
"It's 12:14 a.m., Peter. Would you like to head home?"

Peter looked up at the city skyline, watching as the lights twinkled in the moonlight and listened to the quiet bustle of city streets. "No," he decided. "I kinda wanna stay here and watch the city for a little bit. I'll go home soon though." He lay back against a wall, taking the time to relax his muscles and crack his joints. He was tired, but the city was so beautiful- he could just sit there forever, basking in the quietness-

The metal door to the roof swung open, and Peter heard, "I know there isn't someone up here, because if there is, I swear to God-" The voice stopped as a head peeked out from behind the doorframe. Peter scrambled away as a figure stepped out and scowled at him. "I'm sorry," they began. "Do you _mind?_ "

"Um." Said Peter. 

Because in front of him stood a girl that was not only around his age, but she was holding a yellow mug filled with something that was steaming hot, and a thick hardcover book was tucked underneath her arm. Not to mention she was one of the prettiest girls Peter had ever seen. (No matter how angry she looked at the moment.) She had on plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt that read _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun-Damental Rights_. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes were light blue, something Peter could see even in the dark. 

Or maybe that was just Karen helping him out. Who knew.

"Because I'm trying to study for four tests, write an essay and complete my geometry homework. Now, I believe you understand what exhaustion is, because you had your ass handed to you by someone who wore metal wings and tried stealing Tony Stark's shit," she rambled. "But I have not had a full eight hours of sleep in five days, and I don't care that you're Spider-Man, I'll throw my tea at you and kick you off of this roof myself, do you understand?"  
  
Peter raised an eyebrow, but forgot that she couldn't see his face with his mask on. "I was kind of here first."

The girl took a deep breath, set her things down on the ground and marched right up to Peter, jabbing her finger into his shoulder. "I know you did not just say that to me. I _know you didn't_ \- You know what?" She picked up her book and smacked him in the arm with it. "Get off of my roof!" 

Peter held up his arms in defense, grabbing her book, and taking it from her hands. "Hey, stop it!" He flipped open the cover as she picked up the mug and read the name inside. _Lily Dufoure_. "Lily, stop it!"

"Don't read my name out of my book! That's creepy!" She snapped. "Now, would you please _get off my roof!_ "

Peter quickly thrust the book back into Lily's arms, ignoring the tea splattering onto the floor and gave her a two finger salute. "Uh, sorry, uh, Lily! Happy studying!"

And Peter swung away like his life depended on it. 

<><><>

"Are you okay, Peter?" Ned asked the following day. "You've been rubbing your arm all day, man. That's weird. Something happen yesterday?"  
  
"Nah, I just fell," Peter winced as his fingers pressed too hard into the bruise. "It was, um, a really crappy fall."

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, want me to come over later? We can play Mario Kart or something, maybe take your mind off of all the shit that's been going on." 

Peter grinned at Ned. "Yeah, sounds sweet. Thanks, dude." The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and Peter jogged out of the building, towards the subway. As he stepped on, he tripped over an elderly woman's foot and crashed into a girl and her backpack, sending books and folders to the floor. "Oh, jeez, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to run into you. Here, let me help." He began to bend over, but the girl waved him off, picking up the books and gathering them in her arms.

"No, it's okay, they're just old library books anyway. But thanks for the offer." She looked up at him and smiled. Peter smiled back, before realizing, _'Oh shit, that's Lily Defoure.'_  
  
'I'm glad she hasn't hit me again.'


	2. Explosions and Emojis

Peter, as he usually was around girls, was a nervous wreck. He had no idea what to say, what to do, or how to act. 

 _Especially_ around the ~~pretty~~ ~~~~ ~~~~girl who beat him with a book just last night.

Lily watched, amused, as he stuttered. "Are you okay, dude?" 

"Yes!" Peter squeaked out, fiddling with the edge of his shirt as he stared at her with a nervous grin on his face. "Perfect. I am fine, I'm better than fine actually, I am-" He blew out a breath, puffing his cheeks out. "I am _so bad at this._ "

Lily smiled down at her shoes, gripping her backpack strap. "I think you need to work on your conversational skills." 

Peter nodded. "I think you're right." _What to say next? What do I say next- Name! Ask for her name, dummy!_ And so Peter swallowed, and tried to compose himself. Dear God, he tried. 

"Wh _AT'S_ yo _UR_ n _A_ me?" And then he slapped his hand over his mouth as his voice cracked so loud a woman reading a book four seats over turned to look at him. He heard Lily snort and laugh, and slumped down into an empty seat and held his face in his hands, heat flooding into his cheeks. "Crap, I'm sorry!" Lily slid into the seat next to him. "I'm Lily." He separated his fingers and peeked through the cracks. Lily was smiling at him, her blue eyes twinkling with laughter. "What's yours?"

Peter cleared his throat for a good five seconds before responding. "I'm Peter. Sorry for, um, the whole..." He pointed at his throat. 

"Hm? Oh, don't worry about it." Lily waved him off. "It happens to everybody at some point in time." They were quiet, until Peter noticed the symbol on the breast of her T-Shirt. " _FXHS Cheer,_ " he read aloud, and looked up at her. "You're a cheerleader?" 

She smiled, almost embarrassed. "Yeah, I am. I used to be a dancer, but I decided to try cheerleading instead. It's actually kinda fun, and it turns out I really like it."

Peter grinned. "That's cool. I didn't peg you for a cheerleader." 

Lily's smile became tight. "Neither does anyone else." Clearing her throat, she changed the subject. "Are you a sophomore? Freshman, junior, senior?"

"Oh, um, sophomore," Peter answered. "What about you?" 

"I'm a sophomore too. Where do you go to school?"  
  
"Midtown School of Science and Tech." Lily's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and her mouth dropped open. "That school where really math and science smart kids go?" Peter nodded. "I guess so...?" Lily whistled, leaning back into her chair.  "You've gotta be a genius, then."

"I'm not a genius," he rubbed the back of his neck. "It just comes easy to me."

Lily raised an eyebrow, corners of her mouth turning up into a small smile. "That's what all geniuses say."

Suddenly the train lurched forward, with Lily practically being thrown over Peter. Before Peter could even react, she had grabbed onto the pole above him with both hands, and stiffened her legs to balance herself. She was leaning over him, and looked down at his flushed face. "Sorry," she muttered as the lights flickered, and her grip on the pole tightened.

"No, no, it's okay." Peter bit his tongue. ~~Not that he minded her being over him, or that she still hadn't let go of the metal beam above him.~~ He cleared his throat. "What do you think happened?"

Lily shrugged, slowly releasing her grip on the pole and easing back down into her seat. "Either something's happened where we're being attacked, or there's something going on with the subway lines that we can't keep going because we'll _die_ , or someone fell onto the tracks."  
  
"Those aren't very optimistic answers."

"I watch too many cop shows."

" _Attention, passengers_ ," a monotone voice announced over the speakers. " _Due to a technological malfunction, we must ask you to exit the subway_." Lily's eyebrows furrowed as the voice continued to crackle overhead and jabbed her thumb at the window. "Um," she said. "Exit _where?_ We're still on the tracks." 

Peter raised an eyebrow, and his eyes widened as a distant explosion shook the train. He pressed himself up against the window, watching as flames cast a slight glow on the walls of the train tracks up ahead. The doors were opened as someone pressed the emergency exit button, and people piled out of the train, running to the platform up ahead and climbing up, some helping the elderly. Peter and Lily stood and followed, helping younger children and their parents climb up onto the platform. They ducked when they heard gunfire, and the little boy Peter was helping clung to him tighter, burying his face into Peter's shoulder as he lifted him up. 

"Peter, we have to get out of here!" Lily shouted over the sound of gunfire. Peter handed the boy to his mother, who then proceeded to sprint out of the station.   
  
"You go ahead!" Peter yelled back. "Get out of here!"  
  
"And pray tell, what are you doing to do? Stay here and watch the show?"  
  
"I have to see what's going on!" Peter declared firmly. 

Lily blinked, jaw dropping open. "What, are you nuts?" She screeched. "I'm _not_ leaving here without you!" 

"Lily, get out of here!" Peter pleaded desperately. 

"No!" 

Their argument was cut short by a child's wail, and the two of them turned to see a little girl running down the tracks, clutching her stuffed bunny, face scrunched up in terror. "Mommy! _Mommy!_ "

"Oh, my god, she can't be any more than five!" Lily cried, dropping her bag on the floor and leaping onto the tracks.

"Lily!" Peter shouted, jumping down after her. Just as he was about to follow, there was another explosion, knocking him onto his stomach. He heard the girl scream as Lily threw herself over her, and stood as quickly as he could, sprinting down the tracks, ripping open his backpack.

"Peter, where are you going?" Lily screeched. He ignored her, and dashed further down the tracks, pulling out his suit. "Peter? _Peter!_ "

* * *

Lily officially thought this Peter kid was crazy. No matter how good looking he was. 

After giving the screaming little girl back to her weeping mother, Lily waited anxiously by the entrance of the subway station, peeking over the shoulders of policemen and gripping the shock blanket they had given her. 

"-lucky Spider-Man was there to help us out," one of the cops was saying to another cop. "Apparently one of the employees of the Transit Authority was fired, and he wanted to go out with a bang. Literally. Not to mention he had six months to live anyway."

She shoved her way through the crowd, and nearly cried in relief as Peter's face became visible from the stairs. He was covered in soot, and coughed as he reached the sidewalk. Almost immediately, paramedics and police officers swarmed around him, leading him away from the entrance. Lily trailed close behind, watching as he was questioned and checked out near an ambulance. When he was finally alone, he caught her gaze, and gave her a nervous smile. She marched up to him, and pulled the shock blanket around her tighter. 

Peter cleared his throat. "Um, hi."

_Crack._

His eyes widened as his hand reached up to touch his stinging cheek, and Lily felt her breathing become erratic. "You- you- I- You- What were you _thinking?_ " Lily spluttered. "You could have _died!_ You could have burned to death! You could have been shot! I'm just- _Aaargh_!" Lily shook her fist at him. "You're insane, Peter! I waited out here for an hour! I thought you were dead!"

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I'm sorry you were worried. It was stupid of me, I wanted to see the fight. But I mean, I'm okay! So that's good, I guess?"

Lily took a deep breath. "For the love of God, Peter." She grasped his shoulder. _Oh my God, this boy is muscular._ "Don't do that again. You're nuts."

They picked up their things and walked the city streets, Peter towards Queens and Lily towards the East Village. "I think," said Lily. "It'd be smarter if we called a car or something. Or had someone pick us both up." 

"Yeah."

Lily called her mother (who was terrified and furious and relieved all at once, which was confusing) and Peter called his Aunt May. They sat together on the curb, Lily ripping out weeds from cement cracks and Peter kicking stray pebbles in the street. "Your last name," said Lily. Peter raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Your last name. What is it?"

"Oh. Parker."

"Mine's Defoure."

"Is it, like, Italian?" 

Lily shot him a weird look. "No, it's French. But I don't know any French."

"Huh. Do you-" He paused to yawn. "-Do you take Spanish?"

"Yeah. Do you?"

"Yeah."

They were quiet, listening to the cars roll by and the pleasant conversations of the people around them. Lily yawned, and turned to look at Peter. "I hope you know," she began. "That I'm not ignoring you. I'm just super, super tired right now."

"Don't worry, Lily," Peter groaned. "Me too. I feel sore."

"From helping all those people up the platform? Me too."

Peter's expression became very nervous, and Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"Okay, well, I was wondering, if, um, I could get your number? N-not to be creepy! But like, you're really nice, and it'd be cool to get to know you better and stuff, and so I was just wondering-"

"Shut up and hand me your phone, Parker."

Lily typed in her phone number and created the contact name, handing Peter his phone back. He squinted at the name. "Why is there a fire emoji next to a flower emoji?"  
  
"Okay, A) That flower is a lily." She grinned stupidly. "Get it? Huh? Because I'm a Lily?"

Peter rolled his eyes, unable to keep the smile from his face. "Yeah, I got it." Lily snickered. "And B) That fire emoji is there so we can always remember how there were literal explosions when we met. Also just text me first and I'll know it's you. No offense but I'm too tired to take out my phone right now, it's deep in my bag anyway."

Peter nodded. "Yeah, no problem. I get it."

"Hey Peter?" 

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for running into me today," she said quietly. Her gaze was firmly fixated on the building across the street, so she didn't start blushing if she looked at him. Lily felt him place a hand on her shoulder, and she sucked in a breath. "Yeah, anytime. But I'll try not to knock all your stuff onto the floor next time." Lily laughed softly. They were interrupted by the honking of a car horn, and Peter stood up, gripping his backpack strap as he smiled down at Lily. 

"Bye, Lily."

She rested her head on the palm of her hand, smiling back. "Bye, Peter."

"I'll text you."

"Okay."

As Peter drove away, and as her mother pulled up in front of her, Lily watched the sky change from a light blue to gold, and wondered what she had gotten herself into. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok my dudes im not from NYC so i have no idea how the trains are in the NYC transit, so i kind of made some assumptions as to what they could be like. Sorry  
> WOWWOWOW SO MANY HITS!! Thank you sm :)) leave comments as to what you think of this so far. I have a basic outline as to how i want this to go so if i hiccup or something like that bear with me please


	3. Parties and a Frequent Hobby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy crap im so sorry that this took so long. i tried uploading it a week and a half ago or something but AO3 glitched and wouldn't let me post!! aaa but im here now please dont kill me

**lily:** hey peter  
**peter:** hi lily  
**lily:** Do you wanna see the emojis i put by your name  
**peter** : Yea sure  
**lily:** IMAGE.jpg  
**peter:** why did you put that weird sun thingy by my name  
**lily:** bc u go to Midtown which is where all the BRIGHT kids go  
**peter:** ...  
**lily:** :)))))  
**peter:** what even  
**lily:** im hilarious admit it  
**peter:** wouldn't it make more sense 2 put a lightbulb by my name then?  
**lily:** ,,,,why are you hating on my puns

"Peter? Are you following?"

Peter's head snapped up to stare at his teacher, who was staring right back at him with an expectant look on her face. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I am."

"Don't make this a habit, Peter," she warned. Flash snickered behind him as his cheeks warmed. "Sorry," Peter mumbled. He pulled his phone back out from under his notebook- Lily had texted him two more times.

 **lily:** I'm just trying 2 be a meme  
**lily:** Let me live out my dream  
**peter:** lmao what  
**peter:** hey that rhymed  
**lily:** I'm a poet and i didnt even know it  
**peter:** Ha ha very funny

* * *

 

"So how did you manage to meet this girl?" Ned asked at lunch. "And why is she suddenly talking to you and texting you?"

"We kind of ran into each other on the subway." Peter shrugged, taking a bite out of his sandwich. "She goes to Francis Xavier, I think? And she's a cheerleader."

"Dude, you're talking to a cheerleader? Is she hot?" Ned was astounded, and Peter gave a sly smirk. " _Holy shit, she's hot._ "

"Who cares if she's hot," MJ called out from the other side of the table, peeking her head out from behind her book. "Is she smart?"

"Well, she's a really big feminist, and she's pretty smart so I think-"

"Perfect. I approve."

Peter blinked. "Huh?"

"You can't be talking to a girl who's a total dope," MJ shrugged. "At least make sure the girl you're talking to is smart and wants to hold a conversation with you." Peter and Ned stared at her. "What?"

"I think that's the longest sentence you've ever said to us before," Ned pointed out. MJ rolled her eyes and immersed herself back into her book as Ned turned back to Peter. "So, what else do you know about her?" Peter thought back to their conversations. It had only been about a week or two since the subway incident, but they had texted back and forth a few times to get to know each other better. "Well, I know Lily used to be a dancer. She still is, technically, but she's doing cheer now. She _loves_ RuPaul's Drag Race. And reality shows, she thinks the stupid stuff they do and all the unnecessary drama is hilarious." Peter furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, trying to remember what else Lily told him. "I think she also said she loves superhero stuff." Ned grinned widely and elbowed him. Peter tried ~~and failed~~ to hide a smile as he shoved Ned's arm away. "She also loves food. That she mentions a lot. She's, like, always eating, but I guess that makes sense when her cheer practice is every day."

"So, are you going to date her?"

Peter was taken aback by Ned's question. "What?"

"Are you dating her?"

" _What?_ Ned-"

"Whoa!" Peter jumped as Flash's voice boomed from behind him. "Penis Parker's dating a chick? Are you sure this one's real this time?" Peter sighed. "No, I'm-"

"Actually, Peter's dating a hot cheerleader," Ned interrupted. "She goes to Francis Xavier." Peter's eyes widened and he turned to Ned, kicking him under the table as Ned grinned proudly.

"Please," Flash scoffed. "What hot cheerleader would want to date _you?_ "

Ned snatched Peter's phone from his backpack pocket, opening it (how did Ned know his passcode? He'd have to change it later) and pulling up a picture from Lily's Instagram. Flash's eyebrows raised as he took in the photo- it was a picture from a football game at Lily's school. She was in her cheer uniform, a short white dress with a strip of red twisting around each arm and across her waist like a belt, and beneath it was a black skirt. The word "Panthers" was blazed across her chest in black and red. Lily's dark hair was up in a high ponytail (accented by the stereotypical cheerleader's bow) and her blue eyes were shining as she stood with another cheerleader, smiling brightly at the camera. Flash's eyes narrowed as he scrolled through the rest of her feed. Peter's throat went dry. _'Shit. Shitshitshitshit-'_

"Yeah right," Flash sneered, tossing Ned the phone back, who clumsily caught it. "This girl's a pretty cheerleader who's into Penis Parker? Get real." He turned to Peter, who was taken aback. "I bet you're just another weird internet stalker, Parker."

"I met her on the subway headed home, actually," Peter argued. "We text a lot. So no, I'm not stalking her online."

"Oh yeah?" Flash challenged. "If she's real like you say, bring her to my party this Saturday. I'm sure she'll show up." Flash's sneer curled into a smirk as he called out to the rest of the cafeteria. "Guess what, everyone! Penis Parker's got himself a hot cheerleader girlfriend! She's coming to my party this Saturday- let's see if she's real and doesn't live in Canada!" A few quiet snickers erupted from the students. A few girls and boys at another table rolled their eyes at Flash. "Stop being so dramatic, Thompson," a girl named Xia Ming yelled at the back of Flash's neck from across the cafeteria. Peter chuckled as she ducked back into her pizza as Flash whipped around, trying to pinpoint who shouted at him. The boy turned back to Peter, eyeing him suspiciously. "She better be there, Parker," Flash challenged, before sauntering away.

Peter turned to Ned. "Dude!" Peter hissed. "Why would you _do_ that?"

Ned shrugged. "You need to get out of your element, dude. Also, proving Flash wrong is fun."

" _But she's not my girlfriend!_ "

"Shh!" Ned clapped a hand over Peter's mouth. "Geez, dude, could you be any louder? Look, just ask her to come and pretend to be your girlfriend for a day. You know, as a favor."

"Ned, I've known her for, like, a week."

"Yeah, so?"

"So it's a dumb idea!"  
  
"Peter, since when have dumb ideas ever stopped you from doing anything?" Peter pursed his lips, then grumbled as he snatched his phone out of Ned's hands. Ned was grinning proudly as Peter typed a quick message.

 **peter:** lily  
**peter:** I need to ask u to do me a favor  
**peter:** Please  
**peter:** Also please dont be weirded out  
**lily:** Uh oh i dont like the sound of this

Peter groaned. "Great! I might as well-"

"Peter," Ned warned. "Don't you dare say _give up now._ " Peter's phone vibrated.

 **lily:** But what is it? R u ok?  
**peter:** Yeah its kinda a long story?  
**lily:** Dude i got a free period i love long stories hmu  
**peter:** ok so basically this guy saw a picture of u on your instagram after he overheard me and my friend talking about you, and he kinda assumed we're dating  
**peter:** And now you're invited to his party on saturday because he keeps saying im probably stalking you and you dont even know me  
**lily:** This guy sounds like a dick  
**peter:** he is  
**lily:** So you need me to be your fake gf?  
**peter:** sorta? Its ok if u dont want to  
**lily:** hey, if this guy's an asshole and being unnecessarily rude, I'm all for proving him wrong  
**peter:** Wait really?  
**lily:** Haha yeah man  
**lily:** I live for this shit. It's soul cleansing for me tbh  
**peter:** Thats a little much dont u think  
**lily:** I mean, yeah, but also no  
**lily:** When and where is this party  
**peter:** Actually, can i just pick you up and my aunt can drive us?  
**lily:** Sure, just let me make sure im not doing anything this saturday, and I'll tell my parents you invited me to hang out with you and a few other people  
**peter:** ...u wont tell them about the fake gf thing tho will u?  
**lily:** Fuck no  
**peter:** Ok thank you  
**lily:** no problem, peter

Ned looked up from peering over Peter's shoulder. "See? You're welcome, Peter."

Peter sighed. "This better work, dude."

* * *

 

Patrols and school blurred together, Peter's anxiety focusing on Lily's agreement to be his "girlfriend" on Saturday, along with Flash's continued taunts about Lily's existence. Soon enough, it was Saturday afternoon, and Peter's thumb was in between his teeth as he paced around the room. God, what would he even _wear_ to Flash's party? What would Lily be wearing? Jesus Christ, _what was he thinking?_ His thoughts were interrupted by his phone buzzing on his bed.

 **lily:** Hey ik you might be nervous, but dont be :))) it'll be fine, this stupid Flash guy won't know what hit him  
**peter:** You think so?  
**lily:** Dude, I know so  
**lily:** Don't worry. Just follow my lead. If anything, you can lie/prove him wrong and still have fun tonight :)))  
**peter:** Thanks, lily  
**lily:** Yeah, np! You know my address? And what time to come get me?  
**peter:** Yeah, his party starts at like 7:30/8ish, so I'll probably be there at 7:45  
**lily:** Ok, cool, I'll see you then!  
**peter:** See you

Peter threw his phone back down on his bed in frustration, furiously combing his hands through his hair as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. What if he looked stupid? What if he messed up and what if Lily didn't actually want to do this, and what if-

Peter took a breath, deciding to accept help from the one person he knew was much better at this kind of thing than he was. "Hey, May?"

A few hours later, Peter's anxiety had gone down significantly. (Of course, it was still there. He doubted it would go away until this night was over, but at least it didn't have him wearing down his carpet anymore with all the pacing he had been doing.) He was in the car with May, tapping his foot against the floor of the car. May quickly glanced at him as she drove. "Hey, Peter, you okay? You look anxious."

"What?" Peter nervously laughed. "Nope I'm fine. I am totally okay. It's all good. It's _lit._ "

"Huh?" May raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. "Look. I understand, honey. Fitting in is really hard; it can be difficult to try to be a part of the latest trends and what's cool, but I want you to know that everything gets easier as time goes by." Peter's head thunked back against the car seat. "It does! It might not seem like it now, but I've been where you are, Peter. Well..." May paused. "Not exactly where you are." Peter winced. She was still bitter about his vigilantism, and had imposed a lot of different rules and curfews for him ever since she had found out. There had been a lot of shouting, crying, and ~~murderous~~ furious calls to Mr. Stark. (Peter was, like, 95% sure she had threatened to punch him the next time she saw him. Or worse.)

"I know, May," Peter smiled weakly. "It's just... Well, you'll see. I don't want to ruin anything, if that makes sense? This is just..." He furrowed his eyebrows, struggling to find the right words. "I just met her, technically, and I've already invited her to a party? It's Flash's party, anyway, so God knows what's going to happen there."

May gave him a fond look. "You're a good kid, Peter."

"Thanks, May."

May parked outside Lily's house- a medium sized brick house, squished between two other similar looking brown brick houses. Peter and May climbed up the stairs leading up to Lily's door, and Peter rang the doorbell. He and May waited for a few seconds, his stomach twisting as the door opened, revealing an older woman who shared Lily's bright blue eyes. She smiled warmly at him. "You must be Peter! I'm Lily's mom." Peter shook her hand, and May stuck hers out. "Hi, I'm May Parker, Peter's aunt. It's so nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure! Please, come in."

Peter nervously stepped into the front entryway, declining Mrs. Defoure's offer to take his coat. Instead, he tapped his foot and looked around. The living room was warm, with a TV on the wall, a sofa, and two comfortable looking chairs. A blanket was thrown on the arm of the sofa, and a mug of something sat on the side of a wooden coffee table. The kitchen was nice too, with a black refrigerator and homely looking wooden cabinets. Everything looked lived in- this house honestly could have been the pure definition of home.

"Lily!" Mrs. Defoure called through the stairs. "Your friend is here!"

"I'm coming!" Lily's voice echoed through the house. Peter vaguely heard her turning off some music, and kissing someone goodbye upstairs. The sound of her boots were muffled by carpet, but soon became clearer as they clunked down the stairs. "Hi, Peter! Hi, Mrs. Parker!" Lily grinned. "Hi, Lily!" Peter offered her his best smile, despite his anxiety. She was dressed in slim black jeans that looked high waisted, and a faded pink crop top that looked like it went off her shoulders. Lily's mother gave her a stern look. "Lily, you know I don't like you wearing that top all the time."

Lily looked confused as she leaned down to tie the laces on her boots. "I've worn this like, three times, Mom. Besides, I'm taking a jacket, so it's not so bad." Lily stood back up, and waved at May. "Hi, Mrs. Parker! How are you?"

May smiled brightly. "Hi, Lily, I'm fine! What about you? Excited for the party?"

"Yeah! This should be fun, I haven't been to one in a while." Lily beamed, and left May and Mrs. Defoure to talk as she turned to Peter. "Okay, you ready?"

Peter bit the inside of his cheek. "Yeah, I think so."

"Okay, remember, just follow my lead. If they ask questions just say literally anything and I'll do my best to explain it." Peter watched as Lily shrugged on a black jacket. "It'll be okay, and who knows? Maybe we'll actually have fun tonight. I'm all up for meeting new people." She smiled again at her mother as May started heading back towards the door.

"Alright Lily, you have fun!" Mrs. Defoure kissed her daughter on the cheek, before offering a friendly smile to Peter. "You too, Peter."

"Thanks!" "Bye, Mom! I'll text you when I'm on my way home."

They exited the house, and entered May's car. Lily sat in the backseat, answering all of May's questions about cheer and her school, while Peter numbly sat in the front seat, worrying about what Flash would say. What questions would he ask? What would happen if Peter said the wrong thing and totally embarrassed Lily and she would never want to speak to him again? What if he totally embarrassed himself again? _What if-_

"Peter. Peter!" May grasped his arm. "You're going to be fine. It's just one party- it'll be fun!"

"Yeah, Peter!" Lily chimed in. "Don't worry. And get those _what-ifs_ out of your head- I can practically see them written all over your face." Peter blushed, clearing his throat. "Yeah, but this is Flash we're talking about. Who knows what he'll do?"

"Well, whatever it is, we'll deal with it." Lily shrugged, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, smiling supportively. "Who cares what he thinks? Don't let him get to you too much, dude."

Peter kept quiet for the rest of the drive. The ride was silent, with only the sound of the radio playing and their breathing. Once they reached Flash's house, the knot in Peter's stomach tightened even more, and he felt dizzy. He vaguely registered Lily exiting the car, and the sound of the door slamming shut echoed in his ears. May smoothed down the wrinkles on his shoulder. "Don't worry, okay?" She whispered. "You're going to be great. Just have as much fun as you can. Is anyone else you know going to be there?"

"Uh..." Peter wracked his brain. "I think... I think MJ? And some of the decathlon team. Flash invited everyone on the team, but I don't know how many will be there."

May leaned back into her seat. "Well, there you go. You'll have Lily, MJ, and some of your other decathlon friends." She reached over and unclicked his seatbelt for him. "Now, go. Lily's been waiting outside the car for you for a few minutes now." _That_ got him up. Peter kissed May's cheek and scrambled out of the car, waving goodbye and standing next to Lily, who stared up at the huge house in awe. It was a cream and black house, with a large driveway and a pretty white front porch. Some other teens were standing on said porch, holding paper plates of food and red cups.

Lily clapped Peter's shoulder. "Okay. Remember, I'm your girlfriend from Francis Xavier. If I start coming up with a lie, _you gotta stick to it._ "

Peter nodded. "Okay."

"And I need to know now, because this has been bugging me all night." Lily sucked in a breath. "Okay, this is gonna be weird, but, uh... If I have to, _is it okay if I kiss you?_ Not on the lips or anything!" She hurriedly explained, and Peter almost died on the spot. "I mean, on the cheek or something. I need to know if it's okay!"

"Um," said Peter.

"Oh, God. Is it okay? If not that's totally fine-"

"Nope!" squeaked Peter. "No, no it's okay! Yeah, totally. Uh huh. Sure!" He was turning almost completely red, now he was sure. Lily took a deep breath.

"Alright, Peter." She faced the house again. "You ready for this?"

 _'No. Nope nope uh uh no way I am not ready_ ', thought Peter.

"Yep! I'm ready. Let's do this," said Peter.

 _'Why the hell am I like this,'_ thought Peter miserably.

The two of them climbed up the steps, Peter nodding at a few people on the porch. A few smiled back and said hi, before going back to their original conversations. Peter opened the door and walked in, looking through the crowd of people to see if he could spot Ned, or MJ, or at least someone he knew and was on good terms with. Hopefully he could find them before-

" _What up, Penis Parker!_ " Flash's voice echoed through the house from his spot as the DJ.

_Ah, hell._

Flash jumped down from the platform he was on to walk over to Peter with his microphone in hand. "Where's your girlfriend, huh? Could she not make the flight from Ontario to New York? No, no, wait, hang on." Flash paused dramatically. "Maybe, she's actually here, but she's invisible!"

 _'God, why did I agree to do this?'_ Peter thought miserably as people turned to stare at him.

"Hey, Peter." Lily strutted up beside him, the heels on her boots clicking against the wooden floorboards. She looked at Flash with clear distaste. "Hey... you. Whoever you are. Sorry, I just don't know who you are." Lily gave an apologetic smile and planted a kiss on Peter's cheek. Peter swallowed, heat rising to his face. "Lily, this is Flash Thompson," Peter managed to say weakly.

"Oh, _you're_ the guy who thought I wasn't real!" Flash gaped at her. "Well, Flash, am I real enough for you?" Peter watched in awe as Flash's mouth moved, but no sound came out. A few people snickered as Lily tossed some of her dark hair over her shoulder, smirking at him. "I thought I was required to be here? I usually don't do house calls, but for Peter, well..." She trailed off, giving Flash a once-over. "I love putting stupid douchebags in their place." Lily shrugged. "I call it one of my more frequent hobbies."

As Flash spluttered, Peter grinned at him and thought happily, _'So that's why I agreed to do this.'_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Physics and Birthday Planning

The party had been a total success. An honest to God, total success, and Lily had definitely had fun, she was pretty sure Peter had had fun too. (She hoped he did, anyway. It would really suck if he hadn’t.) That stupid Flash kid hadn’t actually seemed to believe she would show up, and she had had _so_ much fun teasing him and pushing his buttons. Lily had met Peter’s best friend Ned, who was a total sweetheart and seemed to be more delighted that Lily was at the party than Peter was. ~~Not to say Peter wasn’t happy she was there; he had a dorky grin on his face the entire time they hung out together~~. She had also met MJ, a girl who seemed really scary and intimidating at first. Lily hadn’t really been sure what to make of her, but after the two of them had gotten through most of the formal small talk, they had delved into a debate about feminism and the Accords (they had also talked about their favorite TV shows and books, but according to MJ she “had a reputation to maintain among those losers. Don’t tell them I really like Percy Jackson. I only read shit like War and Peace in front of them.”) MJ had declared, “She’s cool. I approve.” Peter and Ned seemed happy with that, so Lily was too.

It had been about a week and a half since that party, and as far as Midtown High School knew, Peter was still “dating” Lily Defoure, AKA “The Hot Chick from Some Other School Downtown™ “ . Which was fine. It wasn’t like she was really ever going to see them again, anyway. Peter and Lily had been texting back and forth every so often during the week, sharing memes and talking about clubs and such. Peter had added Lily into a group chat with Ned and MJ, which MJ had labeled “The Loser League”.

Lily liked the name. If being friends with Peter and Ned and MJ meant being called a loser, (which in her books didn’t really make sense, since all three of them seemed pretty nice) then she was totally fine with it.

Sitting down on her bed, Lily sighed as she sank into the comfort of her mattress. Practice had been grueling today, with partner workouts and her coach’s flexibility tests, but Lily was used to things like that. Her legs ached and her abs hurt from working out and she forced her muscles to relax as she closed her eyes and let her mind wander. She thought about school and homework and the random group chats she was in, when she suddenly remembered tonight was the night she was supposed to FaceTime Peter so he could help her with her physics homework. Technically it wasn’t due till Friday, and today was Wednesday, but Lily figured she’d need all the help she could get, considering she had a C in the class and needed to bring it up to a B at the very least.

Grunting as she leaned over to grab her iPad from her nightstand, Lily quickly typed in the passcode and pulled up the worksheet. She groaned as she looked through the various problems she had to solve- God, did Mrs. Martin want to _kill_ her? Sighing, Lily tapped on the FaceTime app and pressed Peter’s contact, fixing her hair while she waited for him to pick up. Lily frowned at the beeping noise when Peter didn’t pick up, texting him instead.

 **lily** : hey peter, i was just wondering if u were still able to help me? With physics i mean. This worksheet really sucks and i honestly dk what im doing lolol

Lily tried again as she flipped through her notebook, listening to the phone ring and pursed her lips after he didn’t pick up again. “Okay, I’ll just try one by myself and see if I get it. If not, I’ll try again. No big deal, Lil. One step at a time.”

It had been fifteen minutes and Lily was officially done. She’d spam him with calls if she had to. She’d even get Ned to call him. Or MJ. It didn’t matter. She needed massive amounts of help. She needed every available resource. She needed the _goddamn national guard_.

“Okay, maybe not the national guard,” Lily muttered to herself. “Overstepping a little bit there.”

Lily pressed Peter’s contact again, angrily flipping through her notes again as she waited for him to pick up. She heard the ringing stop and the rustling of a phone and Lily pumped her fist in the air. “Ah! Third time’s the charm, I see!” She said without looking up. “Okay, Peter, I’m so totally screwed. My teacher obviously wants me dead. I don’t know what this means. I am _not_ the science-y type. That’s what _you_ are and I’m not and I need every available resource here! I need whatever science powers you have! Tell me your secrets, Peter, how did... you...” Lily’s voice trailed off as she looked up at her iPad screen to see _Tony fucking Stark_ staring back at her, an amused look on his face as he listened to her ramble. Lily had no idea what to do. What was she supposed to say? _‘Ok, start with “Hi.” That’s easy enough,’_ thought Lily.

So, naturally, Lily started shrieking. “ _What the hell what the hell what on God’s green earth-_ “

“Lily? Lily!” Her mother was running up the stairs, and Lily quickly muted her iPad and snapped the screen shut. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? What happened?!”

 _Oh, God. Think fast, think fast..._ “There was a cockroach on my bed and I flipped it off using my blanket and now I don’t know where it went, Mom!”

Lily’s mother pressed a hand to her chest. “You almost gave me a damn heart attack over a bug, Lily?”

“Mom!” Lily wailed. “I just got back from practice! I’ve done nothing but cheer routines and partner workouts and flexibility tests for the past two and a half hours! I am in pain, Mother, have _mercy!_ ”

“Oh, _alright_ , Lily. Where do you think it went?”

“Maybe out the door? I flung it really far.” Lily’s heart was frantically beating in her chest as she peeked her iPad screen back open, and sure enough, Tony Stark was still there, but this time he wasn’t alone. Peter was standing behind him, white as a sheet, and Mr. Stark was telling him something, gesturing at his phone.

“Alright, honey, I’ll let you know if I find it. Okay?”

“Okay, Mom. Love you!” Lily called as her mother started walking down the hall towards the stairs. “You’re my bug assassin! I don’t know how I’d ever live without you!”

“Yeah, yeah, Lily.” Lily could hear the sarcasm dripping through her mother’s voice, but also heard the smile that graced it. “Love you too, butterfly.”

Lily took a deep breath, and unmuted her iPad, staring Tony Stark right in the eyes as she plugged in her headphones. “Uh... H-Hi, Mr. Stark.”

“Hi. I’m guessing you’re Peter’s little girlfriend over here?” He smirked, and Lily blushed. She could hear Peter complaining in the background (“Mr. Stark, she’s not my girlfriend! She’s _not!_ Don’t embarrass her, come on-“)

“Erm...” Lily stuttered, suddenly forgetting all the questions that had piled up in her mind. How did he even know about that? “I’m... I was just...” Lily took a deep breath and tried to slow down her erratic heartbeat. “Can I, uh... Can I still get help with my physics homework?”

Mr. Stark raised an eyebrow. “Huh. Hm. Well, Peter and I were just-“

“Just finishing up on a Stark Industries experiment!” Peter popped up from behind Mr. Stark’s shoulder, looking frantic and still extremely pale, and Lily blinked.

“Whoa, _what?_ Stark Industries? Peter, what aren’t you telling me?” Suddenly she was glaring and she saw Peter flinch. Mr. Stark’s arm came into view as he pushed Peter behind him. “Listen, uh...”

“Lily.”

“Yeah. Listen, Lily, Peter’s an intern here at SI. He’s working with me on a project for the company on account of his high intelligence and scientific capabilities-“

“Mr. Stark.”

“-and that’s what he’s not been telling you. Not that you’re suddenly his guardian, but I thought-“

“Mr. Stark!” Lily snapped. “Can Peter help me with my homework or not? Because I actually need his “scientific capabilities” right about now, considering I don’t understand anything on this Godforsaken worksheet!”

“Lily, I’ll help.” Peter shoved Mr. Stark out of the way and snatched his phone back, the blush that was on his cheeks slowly fading. “I’m sorry I forgot to call, I  got really caught up over here.”

Lily sighed. “It’s okay. Can you tell Mr. Stark I’m sorry I lost my temper and I’m thoroughly embarrassed? I just really need help and I’m really stressed and tired from cheer...” Peter nodded. “He kind of left to go get more coffee but I’ll tell him when he comes back. What’s the first problem?” They sat like that for a while, Peter explaining the differences between formulas and pointing out mistake’s in Lily’s math. By the time the worksheet was finished, it was 7:00. “An hour?” Lily exclaimed. “I’ve been working on this stupid thing for an _hour?_ ”

“Hey, at least you got it done and know what you’re talking about.” Peter smirked lightly, and Lily felt a small twinge of a feeling she couldn’t name (but she knew was good) twist in her stomach. “Yeah, I guess so,” she agreed. “I think I finished my other homework, which is nice. God, my legs hurt.”

“What’d you do today?”

“Partner workouts and then she had us review cheers and then do a bunch of stuff with flexibility.” Lily made a face. “Psh. Flexibility. What’s it ever done for us, anyway?”

“My guess is it helps you actually do your job,” Peter teased.

“Peter, we’re sixteen. I don’t have a job.”

“You might be sixteen.” Peter shrugged. “I’m still fifteen. My birthday is like, what? I think a month and a half away? It’s October now, so-”

“Oh, sweet, dude!” Lily straightened and leaned back against the headboard, an easy smile gracing her face. “We’ll have to do something for your birthday! I’ll have to plan presents and stuff- you can’t let me go overboard!” Lily warned him, and Peter blushed furiously.

“Lily, it’s just my birthday, you don’t have-“

“What?” Lily almost dropped her iPad. _Just_ his birthday? None of _her_ friends were going to think that their birthday was just another ordinary day. “Just your- Are you fucking _nuts?_ _Peter!_ Your birthday is _literally_ one of the only days in the year where you get free stuff and you basically get to be the center of attention and not feel guilty about it _and_ you get to have cake!”

“Lily, I could get cake any other day,” Peter pointed out.

Lily gasped, pressing her hand to her chest. “This is _blasphemy! Cake any other day?_ No! This is _special_ cake. This is super-duper- _ultra_ special cake, and I won’t let _my_ friend be _stupid_ and not have super special cake. Where’s Mr. Stark?”

“Lily, I think you’re overreacting about this whole birthday thing.” Peter rolled his eyes, but Lily watched as he stood up from wherever he was sitting to go find Mr. Stark. _Well, now I have to get him a good present,_ thought Lily. _It has to be great. And unique. Crap, what am I gonna get?_

“Mr. Stark, Lily wants to talk to you.” Peter’s voice was ringing out through what looked to be a large room, and Lily immediately panicked.

“Wait wait wait no no- hey, Mr. Stark! Hi.” Lily crinkled her nose in embarrassment as Mr. Stark’s rather annoyed face popped up onscreen. “Yeah, kid?”

“Uh, okay. Listen.” Lily took a deep breath. “Can you tell Peter he’s being stupid by thinking his birthday doesn’t matter? He says it’s just another ordinary day.”

“What’s this?” Mr. Stark had turned away from the camera, tossing it down on whatever table was in front of him. Lily heard his voice become slightly distant. “Kid, your birthday is, like, ultra special. How old are you turning again? Twelve?” Lily snickered as she heard Peter’s sullen response. “Sixteen, Mr. Stark. I’m not that young.”

“See! I told you birthdays were special!” Lily pointed out.

“Okay, it’s not like I don’t think mine isn’t special but I never want to impose on anyone! I don’t ever ask for a whole lot anyway, I’m usually happy just being with May and...” Peter hesitated, and Lily watched intently as Mr. Stark’s face dropped to an unimpressed look. “That’s not a good enough excuse for you, is it?”

“No, it’s not,” Mr. Stark responded. He brought Peter’s phone back up to his face and smirked. “Thank you, miss...”

“Defoure.”

“Ms. Lily Defoure, thank you for your helpful insight. I’ll be sure to have Peter tell you _all_ about what’s to happen next.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Stark,” Lily chuckled. “I’m glad to have helped.”

“Oh, _God_ , Mr. Stark, what are you gonna do, should I leave now-“

The smirk stayed plastered on Mr. Stark’s face and Lily couldn’t stop the laughter that came out of her mouth. “ _Ciao_ , darling!” Mr. Stark said in a singsong voice, and the call ended abruptly. Lily smiled to herself and reached for her notebook, her smile growing wider as she realized who she had been talking to. _Tony Stark_ had talked to _her!_ And called her darling! ~~Which could have ended up being weird, but Lily assumed it was a spur of the moment thing. She didn’t think Iron Man could ever be a creepy predator to sixteen year old girls.~~

The smile stayed plastered on her face for the rest of the night as she finished her homework. And she laughed out loud when she read Peter’s texts.

 **peter** : I hate u so much  
 **peter** : so much  
 **peter** : after he hung up he grabbed a notepad and pen and then told me to sit down and think about all the things i wanted for my birthday and when i said something normal like a book or parts for my computer he wrote down in huge letters “A COOL CAR” and then went “ok what else”  
 **lily** : HAHAHAHHA  
 **lily** : lowkey thats hella cool tho  
 **peter** : and then i went “no i dont need that” and mr. Stark was like screw it ill get u whatever else i think u want  
 **peter:** and i said how about i tell you what i want  
 **peter** : and he said that the things i wanted for my birthday were lame  
 **lily** : thats really funny  
 **peter** : its ok i knew he was kidding about the lame thing lmao  
 **peter** : no its not!! u did this to me now im getting a CAR where tf am i supposed to put it  
 **lily** : doesnt Mr. Stark have like 300 garages or something just put it there  
 **peter** : what if his garage is in like japan tho  
 **lily** : why tf would he put your car in japan   
**peter** : idk. Also he said you were funny and very helpful  
 **lily** : !!!!!!! Im so happy  
 **peter** : :) im glad. Sorry for not telling u ab the internship btw  
 **lily** : its totally ok, you dont have to apologize. But it means a lot that u said that. Ur a really good friend, peter  
 **peter** : I’m really happy we’re friends, Lily. :)  
 **lily** : me too, Peter. :))


	5. Selfies and Feelings

Peter didn’t really know how he ended up with such a nice girl as his friend. Really, he didn’t. He had no clue. He was Peter Parker and she was, well...

“ _Something_ ,” he breathed to himself. Groaning, he let his head fall forward and thunk against his chemistry book. He had been sitting in his room doing homework, when he started thinking about patrol, and then the _totally kick-ass_ suit Mr. Stark gave him, and then about how he got to work at Avengers Tower while it was still technically Mr. Stark’s, and then Peter’s mind jumped to the thought about Lily’s phone call, and then he was thinking about _Lily_...

Peter raised his head up and let it slam back down against the book again. _‘My train of thought is so weird,’_ he thought.

“Peter!” May called through his closed door. “What was that noise?”

“Sorry, May!” Peter called back. “I dropped my chemistry book.”

“Oh, alright, hon. Remember to eat! It’s seven o’clock and you’ve been working all night since you came home.” The words _from patrol_ almost left her lips- Peter could hear the hesitation in her voice, but didn’t hear her say anything else. “Okay, May! I’m coming!” He called back carefully, picking up his phone and shoving it in his sweatshirt pocket. He padded over to the kitchen, grabbing leftovers from the fridge and tossing them into the microwave, leaning against the kitchen counter as he scrolled through Instagram. Post after post popped up and he half heartedly liked each one until one from Lily’s instagram catches his eye. Peter stared at it for a second- he had only ever seen Lily with her hair up or pulled back, but never down like it was in this picture. It was flowing around her face ~~(yeah, that was dorky, but it was true, okay?)~~  and Peter’s eyes scanned her face. Her cheeks were rosy, which was appropriate with how cold it was getting, her cheekbones glimmered with what Peter assumed to be highlighter, and her lips were naturally pink and her eyelashes were so long and dark they looked like they were touching her eyebrows-

“Whatcha smilin’ at, champ?”

Peter jumped, his hold on his phone loosening and it slipped out of his hands and hurdled towards the floor. His hand shot out and caught it before it could shatter against the shiny wood of his floor (thank you super agility) before he stammered out, “Nothing! Just funny videos! Some guy got kicked in the nuts! _It was great!_ ”

May raised an eyebrow. “Some guy getting hit in the testicles is what makes you smile all lovey dovey at your phone? Is there something important you need to tell me, Peter, because I’m all ears-“

“What? No! _May!_ ” In his embarrassment (and panic) Peter’s palms had gotten clammy and he had been squeezing his phone so hard it popped through his palms and clattered innocently onto the kitchen table, revealing Lily’s selfie. May looked at the photo for a second before cracking a sly grin. “Ah, I see,” she said.

“No, you don’t see! Nothing to see!”

“Peter, it’s natural to get another crush-“

“No crushing here! No crushing other than the crushing of- of _garlic_ and the _patriarchy!_ ”

“While that’s an interesting combo, champ,” began May, who had an amused glint in her eyes. “Why are you getting so defensive about it? It’s not like it’s the end of the world.”

Peter sighed as the microwave beeped, and took out his dinner and placed it on the table. “I just... May, it feels _really_ soon after Liz...” He felt his face twist into a strange look, and May’s amusement fell. “Oh, Peter, baby...” May reached over and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “Hon, I know this feels kind of like betrayal-“ Peter nodded. “But I _promise_ that this is basically step number one in healing. I mean, it’s awesome you like Lily! She’s a really nice girl.”

“I just don’t wanna screw it up,” Peter mumbled. “And, I don’t even know if she wants a... Relationship? Yuck.” Peter made another face. “It sounds too grown up. Lily doesn’t do super grown up stuff.”

“Then there’s your answer,” May pointed out. “You can infer from your information that Lily probably won’t want a relationship right now.”

“Ugh, but what if I’m wrong?”

“Honey, you have a terrible habit of overthinking things. For right now, try to forget about it. Eat your dinner.” May kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair. Peter smiled a bit, digging his fork into his Thai and scraping it into his mouth. That night he went to sleep, trying to think clearly about what he felt about... No, _for_ Lily.

And he came up with nothing. Nothing new, anyway. She was pretty (no, _beautiful_ ) and witty and fiery and- oh, God, when had he suddenly become a poet? Blinking, he thought a little harder about her. “Do I want to go out with her?” He mumbled to himself. Obviously there was something there, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. Was it a crush? Some kind of weird physical attraction? What was it? Would it go away soon? Did he _want_ it to go away soon?

Turning on his side in his bed, Peter groaned and decided feelings were too complex. He’d just stick to being lazy and deal with them later.

* * *

 

He also realized he was terrible at remembering things. Awful. Horrible. No one should ever trust him with remembering dates or names or addresses or events because he would just forget them. Peter Parker was horrible at memorization.

Which is what went through his head when he realized he had to physically go to a library to tutor Lily after school and he forgot because Mr. Stark had called him to work on the Spider Man suit in his ~~super cool~~ lab. And Peter had been so awestruck about working side by side again with _Tony Stark_ that he had forgotten all about working with Lily on the stuff she really needed help on. Fuck, how could he fix it?

Naturally, he started yelling.

“Stop the car! Happy, _Happy, stop the car!_ We gotta go back!” Peter knocked frantically on the partition and Happy quickly rolled it down as he slammed on the brakes in the middle of traffic, hurling some not-so-appropriate words out the window at the people who were honking at him. “What, kid?! What’s wrong, what’s happening-“

“I need you to go pick up my friend Lily and drop us off at a library so we can go study!” Peter blurted out. “I promised her I’d tutor her!”

There’s a beat of silence. Then, “Are you frickin’ _kiddin’_ me, Peter?”

“Please, Happy!” Peter pleads. “I promised. She’s counting on me!”

“Yeah, well, so is the Boss!”

Peter bit his lip, thinking for a moment, before answering, “Mr. Stark’s gotta understand about promises, right? I mean, I’m sure he’ll get it. C’mon, Happy, please?”

Happy sighed, resigned, before making a very fast and very illegal U-turn and barked, “Where is this Lily girl?”

“Francis Xavier High School,” Peter answered happily. “Thanks, Happy!”

Happy responded by rolling the partition back up.

 

* * *

 

“Lily! _Hey, Lily!_ ”

Lily’s head snapped up from her phone. She sat on a bench in front of her school, and stared at Peter curiously as he leaned out of Happy’s car, frantically waving. Peter watched as Lily slung her bag over her shoulder and cautiously walked over to where Peter was waiting. He felt his spirits lift as he grinned stupidly at Lily. “Hi.”

Lily smiled back, although she seemed confused. “Hey there. Whatcha doing?”

“Calling you over here, duh.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Lily tried to peer into the drivers seat, where Happy sat talking on the phone. “Is, uh, is May with you?”

“Um, no, actually,” Peter began nervously. “This is Mr. Stark’s car.” Peter watched Lily’s eyes turn to the size of dinner plates and she stepped back. Peter stuck his hands out. “Don’t freak out!” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Peter, what the fuck?”

“Okay listen. I was supposed to help Mr. Stark today in his lab but I remembered that I promised you I’d help you and a promise is a promise, so Mr. Stark’s driver is gonna drive us to a library somewhere nearby so you and I can study and I can help you and _is that okay?_ ” Peter gasped for breath, feeling his cheeks warm in embarrassment as Lily’s mouth dropped open.

“Peter, if you need to go work for your boss for your internship you shouldn’t let me stop you,” said Lily carefully. Peter shook his head.

“A promise is a promise,” he said determinedly. “Come on. I know the driver personally. It’s fine.”

“Are- Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Peter tried to smile reassuringly at her. “It’s okay! I swear. Come on.” He pushed his bag onto the floor of the car and scooted over, making room for Lily, who carefully slid into the car, holding her bag on her lap. Closing the car door, Peter blinked at Lily, who seemed to be stiff as a board. “You okay?”

“I’m in Tony Stark’s car!” She hissed. “Well, probably not one of his personal ones, but still!”

“I felt that way too,” admitted Peter. “Still do, actually.”

“Why do you have a personal car?” Lily asked curiously. “Why not just take the train to work?”

 _Oh, God. Think fast think fast think fast-_ “There was an incident once, with this guy. He was my... my _friend’s_ dad. He had a grudge against Mr. Stark.” Peter made a face. Talking about Mr. Toomes wasn’t technically a bad thing, right? He wasn’t lying to Lily, not really... But he wasn’t telling her the truth either. Peter felt the guilt bubble up in his stomach as he kept talking. “Anyway, I went to Homecoming with my friend, and he knew I worked for Mr. Stark, so he attacked me. He made kind of a big scene.” _Big scene._ That was the biggest understatement of the year. _Big scene_ for Peter meant nearly half of Coney Island getting ripped apart. For Lily, it probably meant a kidnapping.

“That sucks, Peter, I’m sorry! I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. Mr. Stark had people keep this stuff quiet, so that’s probably why you never heard about it.” It was scary how easily the lie fell off of his lips, but he couldn’t tell Lily the truth. He probably never would, if he was being honest with himself. He couldn’t risk another friend or family member of his knowing about him being Spider-Man. It was bad enough that Ned and May knew- he didn’t want to risk Lily’s life too.

Peter noticed Lily’s eyes were focused behind him, and she furrowed her eyebrows as he turned around to see what she was looking at. “This isn’t the direction of the library by my school. Peter, where’re we going?”

“I don’t know.” Peter rapped on the partition. “Happy? Happy, where are you taking us?”

Happy rolled down the partition and looked at Peter through the mirror. “Boss said there would be a change of plans. You’re not headed to the library anymore. Something about showing your girl off and trusting you or whatever- he said you’d know what that means.” Peter turned red, and looked at Lily through his peripheral vison- she was smiling, burying her face into her backpack.

“Happy, that makes no sense. Where are we going?”

“The Tower.”

Lily’s head snapped back up, and she gasped. “What?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Happy rolled his eyes, and then rolled up the partition. Peter turned to look at Lily, a small smile of embarrassment playing on his lips as she stared at him, a mixture of disbelief and worry mixed in her eyes.

“So I guess that’s better than the library?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter! I meant to post this earlier but oh well ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ the next chapter is already underway, I’ll try to post that one soon!


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